If she's 115 lbs wet, she will not be able to handle (carry, load and unload) any of the kayaks I've seen suggested here. I'd really suggest an inflatable at this point. Cheap, easy to carry and to paddle. And with someone that light, it would probably last her a good while.
Roof loading is a pain, even for me. There are neat roof loading systems I have seen, but seem expensive. All the women I see kayaking themselves arrive with a lightweight trailer. Just saying.
I use a trailer I built myself. Light enough that a 115 lb. lady can handle.
Depending upon budget these Stellars are excellent but expensive .
A person who is competitive will want to get into some racing.Stellar Kayaks USA - Innovative Performance Surf Skis, Racing Kayaks, Touring Kayaks, Stand Up Paddleboards, Paddles and Accessories.
Longer, lighter, and narrower are faster but the narrower the boat the more skill it .takes to balance it. No one will jump into a real K1 with a 1 Stability rating and expect to stay upright. A person with reasonable balance should look at a Stability rating of 8-10 to start on the higher end cruising kayaks and surf skis. Sit on top surf skis a pretty fast with 6 mph, or more, attainable. Those short plastic boats are only good on flowing rivers. On flat water a good 16+ foot surf ski can be moved to 5 or 6 mph or more. Those short, heavy plastic kayaks are maybe 3.5 mph at a comfortable cruising pace. The great thing about sit on tops is if you fall off you get back on. Those sea kayaks take huge amounts of skill to remount to to the point it would take assistance from a partner, paddle float lashed across the deck to help with stability, agility, and strength to remount.
For comparison an experienced paddler in a marathon type kayak, usually about 20 feet long, 25 lbs and 18" wide, can cruise at 7mph or more.
All kayaks are displacement hulls and governed by the Froude number, which is heavily dependent upon the length. The Froude number predicts when the hull will have to go to planing, which is impossible for humans paddling a boat, so the boat basically hits an asymptotic wall of resistance.
GameboyRMH said:How about an inflatable? Can be transported in a Miata, and the lighter and less serious you are about kayaking, the more sense they make.
She has been looking at both folding and inflatable. I've had two friends end up with an inflatable and they sold them very quickly. One of the foldable ones she linked to me was this one below. Thoughts? They look incredibly uncomfortable to me. The video of the paddlers looks like they're using 100% of their abs to sit upright.
Found these, but (no surprise) they're pending sale.
fanfoy said:If she's 115 lbs wet, she will not be able to handle (carry, load and unload) any of the kayaks I've seen suggested here. I'd really suggest an inflatable at this point. Cheap, easy to carry and to paddle. And with someone that light, it would probably last her a good while.
I think she'd be fine with a 65 lb boat, especially because she's very athletic and she'd only be picking up one end at a time. She's no body builder, but not a wimp either.
Kayaks are one of those things that had a bike spike in interest in 2020, I'm not sure it went away. Especially since the plastic ones basically never wear out.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:GameboyRMH said:How about an inflatable? Can be transported in a Miata, and the lighter and less serious you are about kayaking, the more sense they make.
She has been looking at both folding and inflatable. I've had two friends end up with an inflatable and they sold them very quickly. One of the foldable ones she linked to me was this one below. Thoughts? They look incredibly uncomfortable to me. The video of the paddlers looks like they're using 100% of their abs to sit upright.
I haven't tried a folding one but there's at least one person on this forum with one. I have an inflatable sit-in that's seen a couple weeks' worth of use and many inflate/deflate cycles with no noticeable wear so far.
There are a couple of good videos on the youtube by an outfitter talking about entry level (cheap) kayaks and what he likes and dislikes about them (HeadWaters Kayak is the channel name).
If the Pungo and others mentioned are too expensive, I'd find a good deal on a different used one that gets reasonable reviews (this is PRECISELY what I did 6 months ago...I even had a friend with a Pungo he'd sell me). If whatever you get is not a good fit, sell it in the spring for no loss.
I've seriously been quite happy with the deal I got on mine (the one on top of the Fairmont). The seat isn't as comfortable as I'd like, but it takes a couple hours to notice that. Everything else about it is up to my "I'm out here to have fun" standards. Should I want to upgrade, I could sell it by the end of any given day for what I have in it.
I like sea kayaks mostly because those are what I've had experience with. You said, "paddle into the bay..." what does that mean? One nice thing about sea kayaks is they have stability for days. They are made to handle open ocean chop. Overkill for a lake or river, but the water in a bay like the Chesapeake could get rough.
Some day I'll have the space to build my baidarka kayak. I've only had the strips in my garage for 25 years... I'd love to find a CLC Pax 20 as well as a day-trip boat. I paddled a demo around at the Annapolis boat show years ago and it was fun - so freaking fast.
"Paddle into the bay" in the thread title I believe was probably an invitation to the thread to "circle around" and "come discuss" but in a nautical theme ;)
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I used to race a CLC Pax 20. It was quick for sure. Not quite as fast as the best surfski designs, but fast enough for me to win a few trophys in open water competition.
A boat that's remarkably fast yet stable is the Epic V5 surfski. Their V8 is even quicker, but more tippy also. With the Epic line, the higher the number, the less drag, but also the less primary stability.
In reply to Kreb (Forum Supporter) :
That's awesome. I only had it out for maybe 20 min in the harbor, but despite the caveat "for experienced paddlers" it seemed pretty stable to me, as someone with minimal experience. I'm guessing due to the fairly hard chines. I can still remember how after a few solid strokes, it was moving through the water at a decent clip, which made it a lot of fun. It is a narrow boat, tho. I fit fine in it then, but that was 25 years and a few added pounds and inches ago.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
If I recall, the Pax is 21 inches wide, (edit: It's 19.5". My bad) Some of the races that I did were in pretty serious chop, and the fastest paddlers in the skinniest boats often ended up swimming at some point. I wasn't willing to do that, even if it meant taking a second or a third instead of winning.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:I like sea kayaks mostly because those are what I've had experience with. You said, "paddle into the bay..." what does that mean?
I should have been more clear. Not "bay" like Chesapeake or Tampa. This is the biggest water she'd probably be in.
Yes, it's a bay, but it's heavily protected and gets zero ocean wave activity. She would only be out here if it were nice weather at slack or neap tide.
For all intents and purposes, it's a lake with salt in it.
This kind of marshy stuff....
ClemSparks said:"Paddle into the bay" in the thread title I believe was probably an invitation to the thread to "circle around" and "come discuss" but in a nautical theme ;)
Exactly. It was a super clever play on words that obviously missed the mark 
This is the bay we're paddling into to talk about kayaks:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/lifetime-10-ft-cruze-sit-inside-kayak-bahama-fusion-90748
Tractor Supply has new ones for $249. Cheap way to find out if she actually likes it, then upgrade if she does
I asked Hot for Teacher what boats she borrowed. The only one she remembers was a Pelican something. She found it to be stable and liked that. I'm sure she doesn't care about speed. I know I often care about straight line. I don't want to spend half of my paddling zig zag to go see that neat tree across the lake.
It seems in my brain like a 12'-14' sit in with a generous opening (easy to not drown if you capsize and easy to get in/out to explore the shore) but I would think a short boat would zig zag a lot and I'm not seeing many entry level boats with a drop-down skeg/rudder to help keep it straight. Is that something that I can retrofit if she sees the need?
Also, just found this photo she sent from earlier this summer. She had no complaints with this borrowed boat. Looks like an Escapade something?
Isn't she pretty? (the lady, not the boat)
I'm so in love.
I'll chime in with the recommendation of a 12'-14' boat. They will be stable, track well and reasonably light. I have a 14' Carolina and a 13' Perception Sport, both are great for fresh and salt water. I got both used for $400 each a few years ago and they are likely $600-$800 used now. The cheap boats tend to be built cheaply and are poor designs. Spend the.money up front and get a good one, then you won't have to replace it in 2 months.
There's tarpon in those waters (along with southern rays and other critters, the tarpon are fun and will hang out on the edge of the shallows near natural channels from late July through September.
Back to yaks. How crafty are you up for getting?
ClemSparks said:There are a couple of good videos on the youtube by an outfitter talking about entry level (cheap) kayaks and what he likes and dislikes about them (HeadWaters Kayak is the channel name).
So I watched his entry level "5 kayaks under $300" and I'm intrigued. All of the kayaks he tested were about 8-10', and the shortest one he tested (field and stream Blade, which he says the hull looks identical to a Pungo) had the nicest glide and tracked really straight. It was his favorite to paddle, but his only complaint was that his 6'4" frame didn't fit well. Shouldn't be an issue for a 5'3" gal. His top pick was a Pelican Mustang at 10'
Both of those boats are vaguely in budget new, but could likely find used.
Budget, by the way, is in the $250 range, but I could spring for a little more.
my 2cents. The Lifetime/Pelican pricepoint kayaks will get you on the water, but do require a fair amount more energy to paddle.
I have a 10ft Pelican SOT that my wife uses and a 13ft Dager sit in kayak. My higher end sit-in kayak floats faster in a current than the Pelican can paddle in same water.
10' is the absolute minimum the average adult should use and I would suggest 12' for inland lakes and still-ish water
As with any sport, many people quit the sport early because they started with bad equipment. What Grtechguy says above.
I started my wife in a 10' , she soon moved up to a 13'.
OBTW, this thread caused me to go look up prices of some of my fleet. Glad I was sitting down. Whew.... $$$$
Chincoteague is a great kayak location. I would advise beginners to not venture out into inlet. There can be massive currents there with tides. I've paddled hard forward while my GPS told me I was traveling backwards.
I have an expensive Old Towne kayak and one similar to the one ClemSparks put up, I like the cheaper one better! It has adjustable pedals where the Old Town doesn't, so as you paddle and are relaxed, you feet clang around like a bell. The cheaper one has ribs on the bottom, on the Old Town that has no ribs, the boat drifts off onto the direction of your last stroke where the ribbed one tracks straight.
Wish I had a trailer ....
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